Mercurius (crater)

Last updated
Mercurius
Mercurius crater 4165 h2.jpg
Oblique Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates 46°40′N66°04′E / 46.66°N 66.07°E / 46.66; 66.07
Diameter 64.3 km (40.0 mi)
Depth Unknown
Colongitude 295° at sunrise
Eponym Mercury

Mercurius is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon. It was named by the IAU in 1935. [1]

Contents

It lies to the northeast of the smaller crater Carrington, and west-northwest of Zeno. Just to the south is the small lunar mare named Lacus Spei, and to the west is the larger Lacus Temporis.

The rim of Mercurius is circular, with a somewhat irregular edge. There are small outward bulges along several sections of the rim, with the most notable bulges being along the eastern and southern sides. The inner wall has slumped around much of the perimeter, producing a sharp edge. The sides are also somewhat worn, with some tiny craterlets overlying the inner wall.

Within the rim the interior floor has been resurfaced by lava and is nearly level, with a slight hint of a central mound. The remainder of the floor is marked only by a few tiny craterlets and some low ridges in the northeastern corner.

Satellite craters

The crater at the extreme right of an Atlas-centered image in selenochromatic format (Si) with some landmarks. More infos here : https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromatica Atlas Si Ferruggia Zetta.jpg
The crater at the extreme right of an Atlas-centered image in selenochromatic format (Si) with some landmarks. More infos here : https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromatica

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Mercurius.

MercuriusLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A48.0° N73.6° E20 km
B47.4° N70.0° E13 km
C47.5° N59.4° E26 km
D46.1° N68.6° E50 km
E49.7° N73.3° E29 km
F45.2° N62.9° E17 km
G45.1° N64.3° E13 km
H49.2° N63.6° E10 km
J47.2° N59.0° E9 km
K47.4° N73.2° E21 km
L45.9° N64.3° E12 km
M50.9° N73.9° E40 km

Notes

  1. "Mercurius". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS . Retrieved 28 April 2024.

Sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansgarius (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Ansgarius is a lunar impact crater that is located near the eastern limb of the Moon. When viewed from the Earth, the crater has a highly oval shape due to foreshortening, but the rim is actually nearly circular. To the northwest of Ansgarius is the crater La Pérouse, and south is Behaim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArmiƄski (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Armiński is a small lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, to the northeast of the large walled basin Gagarin. To the northwest of Armiński is the crater Beijerinck, and to the southeast lies Cyrano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrhenius (lunar crater)</span> Moon surface depression

Arrhenius is a lunar impact crater that is located just on the far side of the Moon, near the southwest limb. In this location the vicinity of the crater can be viewed during favorable librations, although it is viewed from on edge. To the south-southeast is the worn crater Blanchard, and De Roy lies further to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chamberlin (lunar crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Chamberlin is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon, just past the southeastern limb. It lies to the southeast of the crater Jeans, and Moulton is attached to the southeastern rim of Chamberlin. This crater is located in a part of the lunar surface that has undergone resurfacing of crater interiors, producing dark-hued crater floors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brianchon (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Brianchon is a lunar impact crater that is located along the northwestern limb of the Moon. Due to its location, from the Earth the crater is seen from the edge and its visibility is somewhat affected by libration. Thus for a more detailed view, the crater must be viewed from orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keldysh (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Keldysh is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon, at the eastern rim of the Mare Frigoris. It lies due north of the prominent crater Atlas, and to the northeast of the notable Hercules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buys-Ballot (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Buys-Ballot is an oddly-shaped lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. The crater was named by the IAU in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronk (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Bronk is an eroded crater that lies on the far side of the Moon, out of sight from the Earth. It lies to the southeast of the larger crater Kovalevskaya. Less than one crater diameter to the east-northeast is the smaller crater Bobone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cremona (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Cremona is a lunar impact crater that is located along the north-northwestern limb of the Moon. From the Earth this crater is viewed from the side, and the visibility is affected by libration effects. To be viewed in any detail, this crater must be seen or photographed from orbit. It is located midway between the crater Boole to the south-southeast and, on the far side of the Moon, the crater Lindblad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isidorus (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Isidorus is a lunar impact crater that is located to the north of the Mare Nectaris, on the eastern half of the Moon's near side. It was named after Spanish astronomer Saint Isidore of Seville. It forms a pair with the slightly larger Capella, which is attached to the east-northeastern rim. To the west-southwest across the lunar mare are Mädler and the prominent Theophilus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cori (lunar crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Cori is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies less than one crater diameter to the north of the crater Baldet. To the northeast is the crater Grissom. It is named after Gerty Cori, the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize and the first woman to win the prize in the category Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark (lunar crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Clark is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southern hemisphere of the Moon's far side. It is located midway between the larger walled plain Van der Waals to the south and the similar-sized crater Pizzetti to the north. It is named for American astronomer and telescope maker Alvan Clark and his son Alvan Graham Clark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leibnitz (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Leibnitz is a huge lunar impact crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This formation is the same size as Clavius on the near side. It is located to the east-southeast of Mare Ingenii, and is joined to the northeast rim of Von Kármán. Attached to the eastern rim of Leibnitz is Davisson, and intruding into the southeast rim is Finsen. Farther to the west is the large Oppenheimer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoney (lunar crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Stoney is an impact crater on the Moon, located in the southern part of its far side, approximately 47.5 kilometers in diameter. In 1970, it was named by IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature after Anglo-Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney (1826–1911). It lies to the southeast of the crater Baldet and to the east of Bhabha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrington (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Carrington is a lunar impact crater that is located just to the northeast of the crater Schumacher, in the northeastern part of the near side of the Moon. Carrington was named by the IAU in 1935. It lies in a stretch of rough terrain between two small lunar maria, with Lacus Temporis to the northwest and the smaller Lacus Spei to the east. To the northeast of Carrington is Mercurius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shuckburgh (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Shuckburgh is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, named after Sir George Augustus William Shuckburgh-Evelyn. It lies south-southeast of the flooded crater Chevallier and northwest of Hooke, roughly midway between these two formations. To the northeast is the Lacus Temporis plain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubble (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Hubble is a lunar impact crater that lies very near the east-northeastern limb of the Moon. At this location it is viewed almost from the side from Earth, and the visibility of this feature is affected by libration. It lies to the north of the Mare Marginis and northeast of the crater Cannon. About one crater diameter to the north-northeast is Lyapunov.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houzeau (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

Houzeau is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the northwest of the Mare Orientale impact basin, and ejecta from that event has fallen across this crater rim and its interior. To the south of Houzeau lies the crater Gerasimovich, and one crater diameter to the west is Belopol'skiy. To the northwest lies Fridman, with Ioffe to its southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mills (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Mills is a small crater that lies on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the northeast of Henderson and to the south of Kohlschütter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stein (lunar crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Stein is an elongated impact crater formation that lies just to the east of the larger crater Tiselius, on the far side of the Moon. Farther to the east-southeast of Stein lies Krasovskiy.